


A Sense of Peace

by harmony88



Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Humor, Light Bondage, Romance, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:53:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28870362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmony88/pseuds/harmony88
Summary: COMPLETEThe Doctor and Rose take Donna and Martha on a trip to the Renaissance, but a dark force is terrorizing the city of Venice and they have to try to solve the mystery. And for Rose and the Doctor, they are reminded that getting forever means they have new problems to deal with, and lots of love to give.They had missed their friends.As soon as the spin of time halted beneath Rose’s feet her eyes locked with the Doctor’s, who was grinning madly. “Allons-y!” he said, holding Rose’s hand as they made their way toward the front doors, all giddy and excited.“The Italian Renaissance!” he declared. “Venice, 1491.”
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Forever With You: Part 2 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111892
Kudos: 129





	1. Peace

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go! These first few stories are laying the groundwork. :) 
> 
> Also - if you haven't read my first series, this one is a direct follow up and there are references and jokes that you may miss. Recommend reading everything in order to get the full effect, hope you all enjoy!!

Peace was a feeling he was unfamiliar with. 

He was sitting in the Tyler’s living room with his legs sprawled out over the armrest of the couch, watching telly with Rose who was tucked up against his side with her head on his chest. He was tracing a circle lazily on her skin, which they both knew was the Gallifreyan symbol for ‘forever’, and he could hear Tony playing with his dragons and princesses and knights to their right, making crashing noises and pretending to breathe fire as Jackie drank tea across from them, and Pete was working on a laptop in the office a few feet away. 

He was 906 years old. He’ll be 907 in just a few weeks; Christmas was somehow right around the corner again, and as Rose’s heartbeat echoed in his ring and against his chest, he found himself feeling nothing but peace for the first time in his long life, and it would be alarming if it didn’t feel so damn _good._

He smiled a little and kissed the top of her head. The universe didn’t need saving today and he wasn’t thinking about or feeling the weight of the Time War in his hearts like he usually did. Rose was determined to make sure he didn’t have to carry it alone, and he also knew the projections were rubbing off on him, finally, all these months later. It had been over a year since the first one, and with each passing day in their forever, through every kiss and every adventure, when he woke up each morning with her hair on his face and her legs tangled in his, he was slowly, so very slowly, beginning to believe that what he did _had_ to happen, and that he deserved to be happy. 

He must have done something right to get her. 

It was the longest span of time in recent history there hadn’t been an alien to stop or people to save. It had been three weeks since their adventure in Barcelona, and after four or five days at the villa they had spent a little bit of time visiting various asteroid belts and one small planet where nothing went wrong, and they both found themselves missing Tony and Jackie. Things were much better, but not exactly familial yet with Pete, and Martha and Donna were going to stop by the next day so they could pick them up for their monthly trip. The Doctor was insisting on keeping the destination a secret, which was driving Rose crazy with anticipation. 

She snuggled closer to him somehow and he caught a whiff of sweet honey, and he stopped tracing the circle and moved so his arm was fully around her. His eye met Jackie’s for a moment, and she just smiled a little and traced their embrace with her eyes as if she was taking in just how much they loved each other before she focused on the telly, and when he saw her swallow a lump in her throat he bit his cheek to stop from giving away his emotions, which were suddenly hitting him with a force. 

His perfectly imperfect family. 

Despite Jackie’s acceptance and eagerness for Rose and the Doctor to get forever together, they hadn’t told her about anything that happened with Rassilon. Part of them wasn’t quite sure how without having to explain their entire life together, a conversation that was bound to be a little awkward at times with his wife’s mother and he was positive would earn him a slap for some reason or another, and part of them was simply enjoying their little bubble, and they knew the moment they told their family the shift in their dynamic, it would become a _thing._

That family, of course, included their friends. They can pretty much guess how everyone will react; Mickey will probably just nod, maybe hug them, and move on at this point. Donna might do something similar, but Martha will most definitely have a thousand questions. Jack, they expect, will ignore all the Doctor’s protests and kiss them, making some comment about how they get to be best friends forever. They can picture it all, assuming they know their friends as well as they think. 

Jackie will be happy. They know this. She’s told them this. It was years in the making, but her words that day in front of the TARDIS still ring in the Doctor’s ears and simultaneously break and mend his hearts, but he’s just...not ready. It’s a feeling he can’t quite explain, and he knows Rose understands and feels the same way. 

She looked at him, the hum in her head incessant, and nudged her mind to his. 

_You alright?_

_Oh, yes._

She smiled at him, sighing in content against his chest and he kissed her forehead, and he let go of his wandering thoughts and turned his attention back to the telly, just as Jackie went to go make dinner. 

He was enraptured with the world of the sitcom they were watching when he felt a tug on his hand. 

“Hi monster,” he said, seeing Tony pouting at him. “You wanna play?” 

Tony nodded, and Rose kissed the Doctor’s chest as she sat up and released him from her grasp. He winked at her and gave her a quick kiss before he turned his attention to her brother, and they proceeded to create an entire world of dungeons and monsters and knights and dragons and princesses. 

Rose watched, wrapping a blanket around her knees, and Tony tucked his princess doll in one of the makeshift dungeons. “That’s Rose,” he said. 

The Doctor’s brow furrowed, and Rose bit her lip. Tony then grabbed one of his knights and knocked down the dungeon, freeing his princess doll and cheering. The Doctor watched him and swallowed. “Is that supposed to be me?” 

“Yeah, because you save her,” he said. The Doctor looked at him carefully, and pulled him onto his lap. 

“Who told you that?” the Doctor asked. Tony just shrugged, and both the Doctor and Rose had a feeling this was Pete’s doing, probably from before they had their talk. Rose felt a slight irritation she pushed down, and the Doctor sighed. “Look at me. Rose may be the princess, but she’s also the dragon slayer. Remember that, okay?” 

“Okay,” Tony said, and the Doctor glanced at Rose, who was nibbling on her lip. She turned her attention back to the telly, and the Doctor stood up and let Tony play more with his toys, moving to sit by his wife. 

“You alright?” he asked her quietly. She just nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I’m not surprised, if that’s what you mean,” she said. “He’s trying.” 

The Doctor knew she meant Pete, and he just kissed her head. “He is.” 

“You really think I could slay a dragon?” she teased, looking up at him with her tongue in the corner of her mouth. He just gave her a knowing look and she laughed. 

They ate dinner and told Jackie they’d handle the dishes, and as Tony got his bath the Doctor was once again struck by how simple and domestic it all was, and by how much he enjoyed it. Rose watched him dry the dishes with a small smile on her face, and they just glanced at each other, both letting small laughs out as they worked, and he once again felt peace. 

Tony wanted Rose to read him a bedtime story, and she was sitting beside him flipping through the book while Jackie and Pete headed to bed and the Doctor went to take a shower. He had just gotten dressed in lounge pants and a t-shirt and was tousling his hair when she came into the room, pressing her back against the door to close it. 

“I was thinking,” she whispered. He looked over at her, his fingers making a final ruffle through his locks, and he swallowed when he saw her lock the door. “It might be kind of fun to pretend I’m a princess you have to save.” 

“What are you talking about?” he asked, and she bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“You know...roleplay,” she said breathily, and he bit his cheek. 

“We don’t do that sort of thing, Rose,” he whispered, and she just hummed and ran her hand along his arm. 

“Rachel,” she said, and he clicked his tongue against his teeth, a small smile tugging at his cheeks. 

Maybe they do that sort of thing every once in a while. 

“I’m just thinking...could be fun. If you want,” she said, her eyes tracing his chest. “Or you could be the one who needs saving. Not picky about that part.” 

“What I would need saving from?” he murmured, his eyes lingering on her lips. She just smiled seductively at him and moved to her closet, pulling out a scarf. He knew what she meant and he felt his breath catch in his throat, his groin pulsing. “We’re at your parent’s house,” he reminded her, and she traced her lip with her tongue, nodding. 

“So?” she said, and he felt his groin pulse again as he looked at her, noting how very close her body had gotten to his. “This will help you stay quiet. You are so very bad at that.” 

She was in a mood he had never quite seen, and her tongue was doing things to him. He groaned and pressed his back against the wall, watching her. “Rose…” 

“You pick,” she said. “Me or you? Who needs saving?” 

He found this entire act incredibly irresistible, and he just shook his head at her, amazed at the feelings she was stirring up inside of him. “Me.” 

She beamed at him, and he felt his hearts racing widely in his chest, his anatomy giving him away as he laid down and she brushed her body up against him, wrapping his arms to the bedpost and grabbing a second scarf, gagging him. “If it’s too much, just think pears, okay?” 

He rolled his eyes at her, and she burst into laughter for a moment before she moved and flipped off the lights. The moonlight trickled in, and he couldn’t believe they were about to do this as she approached him, and she started to look him over. 

“Was someone bad?” she asked. He didn’t say anything, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do, and she bit her lip, sliding onto the bed next to him and gazing at him carefully. She began to touch his leg and he closed his eyes, and she bit her lip, laughing. 

He nudged his mind to her. 

_That’s great for my confidence, thank you._

_You’re just so stiff!_

_I don’t know what we’re doing?!_

Rose looked at him, a panic lined in his eyes, and she suppressed any more laughter and shook her head. “New idea,” she whispered. “You just lie there, yeah?” 

He arched an eyebrow at her, and she slithered his lounge pants off, and brought her head to him, sending his eyes fluttering closed with her next move, and he suddenly knew _exactly_ what they were doing. 

He couldn’t help the moans that escaped his throat, muffled by the scarf, and Rose continued to bob and send his pleasure sensors skyrocketing, until she moved to straddle him. The shift of the weight and the loss of the feel of her made him open his eyes and he realized she had somehow disposed of her clothing and she leaned down and whispered in his ear. 

“I know you can get out of these ties, your big Time Lord brain and all, but...no touching, yeah? Not until I say so,” she whispered, and he whimpered as she took control, illuminated by the moonlight. 

Her mind was wide open to his and it was making him forget where he was. A thousand sensations took charge inside of him, and he was finding it impossible not to touch her. All his senses wanted was her. He needed to taste her, hear her, see her, feel her… 

She was grinding and biting her own lip to stop from moaning, and eventually she just nodded at him, and he broke free of his binds instantly, flipping her over and kissing her hard, both of them moaning against their lips. His hands were everywhere, more undone than he can remember being. He knew that wasn’t true, of course, Rose drove him insane, but this was the current memory he had of needing her more than he could explain, and they were suddenly much louder than either meant to be. 

“Rose...Oh, you like that?” he asked her, surprising himself at the question. He blamed the restraints, it was causing him to be more daring. They typically didn’t speak very much by this point, not in English anyway and not out loud, and she bit her lip at the feeling the question shot through her. He panted when he felt it, too. 

“More, more, please,” she demanded, clutching the sheets. He responded instantly, their minds locked just as their eyes found each other, and he flew over the edge. 

She went right with him. 

They probably screamed, he was certain of it, but he felt too blissful to care. She was catching her breath, the scarves still on the pillow next to her, and he rested his forehead on her shoulder, trying to remember how his respiratory bypass worked. 

“What’d ya think?” Rose asked, and he just laughed. 

“I can see the appeal,” he said, and she flashed him her favorite smile, all of their limbs feeling like jelly. “Very much.” 

“Good,” she said, and she brushed his hair back. It lacked it’s usual messiness, still rather damp from his shower, and he stared at her. “What?” 

“Nothing,” he said. “I just love you.” 

“I love _you,_ ” she mumbled, and they shifted so they were laying next to each other, the moonlight spilling across their bodies as they stared at the ceiling. “Thank you for what you said to Tony.” 

“It was true, Rose,” he said. 

She rolled onto her side, looking at his profile. He tilted his head to look at her, and he found himself unable not to smile, which she reciprocated. “Any chance you’ll tell me where we’re going tomorrow?” 

“Oh, is that what this was about?” he teased, and she started to laugh. 

“No, of course not, I -” she started, but he was committed and he just shook his head and pulled away from her. 

“Oh this is a new level, Rose Tyler, buttering me up with kinky sex when all you really want is -” he said, and she shut him up with a kiss. He smiled at her as she pulled away, and she just shook her head, slipping out of the bed. He, for a moment, was afraid she might be a little upset and he grabbed her hand. “It’s a surprise and it will be worth it.” 

“Don’t doubt it,” she said with a wink, her fingers playing with his. “Gonna go shower. You wanna join me?” 

“I just showered,” he said, and she just smiled at him like he was a dense idiot, and he beamed at her. “I mean, yep. Yes, I do. Allons-y!” 

They didn’t make love again, but they did a lot of kissing and rubbing and helped each other wash, and as the Doctor fell asleep that night with his most perfect human tucked in his arms, he once again felt peace. 

It was nice while it lasted.


	2. 1491

The next morning, he and Rose awoke later than usual and stumbled out of bed to the smell of coffee and breakfast. Tony was eating some dry cheerios, and Jackie was eating her own plate of eggs and toast as they each fixed themselves a serving and told her thank you. She just nodded at them, reading the paper, and Rose kissed the top of her head as she sat down and started to eat. The Doctor was sipping his coffee, sharing a small glance with Rose, before he began to eat his own breakfast too. Tony looked at him. 

“Uncle Doctor?” he asked, his little voice brightening his day. 

“Hm?” he said, swallowing a sip of coffee. Tony just ate some more cheerios and looked at the Doctor curiously, much like he does with a new toy. 

“What did Rose like?” he asked. The Doctor’s brow creased. 

“What do you mean?” he said. Both Jackie and Rose had stopped eating and were watching Tony, who just chewed on more cereal. 

“Last night,’” he said. 

Jackie shot a look at him and the Doctor choked on his coffee.

“Last night -you asked her -” Tony kept going, saying he wanted to know what it was, and the Doctor spilled the entire contents of his mug on his shirt. Rose bit her lip to stop from bursting into laughter. Jackie shot them both a death glare and the Doctor just shook his head and tried to wipe the coffee off of his chin and the table with his napkin. 

“Oh, Tony, that...don’t worry about that,” he said.

“It was a game,” Rose said laughing, unable not to, and Jackie hit her on the back of the head which just made her laugh more, and the Doctor just stood up, dripping coffee everywhere. 

“Can I play?” Tony asked. 

“NO!” all three of them shouted, and the Doctor looked down at the mess he made with the coffee. 

“I’ll clean that up. I swear, I…” he said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and Tony kept asking what the Doctor gave his sister, and Jackie moved to pick him up and take him out of the room, telling him she’d tell him more in ten years.

“I will kill you both,” she muttered at them, and Rose continued to laugh. The Doctor stared at her once Jackie was out of sight. 

“It’s not funny,” he said. 

“Yes, it is!” she said, wiping her eyes as a new set of laughs hit her. He grumbled under his breath in Gallifreyan and she tried to control her laughter as he wiped up the coffee with a paper towel. “Oh, come on, that was objectively hilarious.” 

“Objectively is the key word, there, Rose,” he said, and she stopped laughing. 

“It’s not like he’ll remember this. We didn’t scar him for life or anything I swear,” she said. “Mum on the other hand…” He shot her a look and she realized Jackie is what he was upset about. Rose just rolled her eyes. “Oh, she’ll be fine. We’ve been married three times, what can she really expect?” 

She was gazing at him in a flirtatious way, and he just shook his head at her, his embarrassment dissipating when he remembered that little detail. He tossed the paper towels in the bin and turned back to her, a gleam in his eye suddenly. His voice was more husky than he intended, and she was getting a new warm feeling in her belly. “No more role-playing or scarf games at your parent’s house, Rose Tyler.”

“The TARDIS?” she murmured, and he just rubbed his lips together, forgetting why he was so upset as her eyes danced with his. 

“I think that would be acceptable,” he said with a wink, and she kissed him. He smiled against the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening it slightly, allowing her tongue to find his. He pressed her body against the counter. 

“OI!” Jackie shouted. He pulled away immediately, stepping back, and Jackie just slapped his head, too. “Ten million years old and you’re no better than bloody teenageers.” 

“Sorry,” he said, looking at Rose and ignoring Jackie’s insult. He smiled again when Rose was biting her lip and smirking at him. He leaned against the counter, his mind wandering, captivated by her. “The villa, too. Would be good there. We’ve got those slabs on the bed, remember?” 

“Voracious,” she said, and he just winked again. 

They moved to get ready, Jackie still shooting them glares as they waited for Martha and Donna. Rose knew her mother well enough to know she was angry, but she wasn’t _that_ angry, and the Doctor just was glad she wasn’t lecturing them. 

Rose found herself in the backyard when Donna’s car pulled up. They hadn’t seen them in two months in their timeline and she raced out front to catch them both in a big hug. Martha squealed and hugged her back, and the Doctor stayed in the archway of the front door, waving. 

“Hi, weirdos,” Donna said. She smiled at them, and moved into the house to say hello to Jackie too, giving the Doctor a quick hug and bantering with him for a moment about how he made her drive to him when he had a time machine, and he just rolled his eyes. 

“Martha Jones,” he said with a smile, hugging her as she approached the front door. “How are you?” 

“Better now. I missed you!” she said. Rose squeezed her hand and smiled at her. Donna and Jackie were laughing, and the Doctor peered over his shoulder, convinced it was probably at his expense, and he turned back to Rose. 

“We missed you, too,” he said, and he led them all to the living room with Donna. Rose was relieved when her mother didn’t shoot her a glare, and instead moved to hug her. 

“Alright, all of you. Have fun and be careful,” she said. Rose gave her a squeeze and Jackie picked up Tony, who followed them all out to the TARDIS and waved goodbye. 

“See you soon!” Rose shouted, and when she shut the door Martha and Donna were already by the console, and she stayed on the ramp, looking at the Doctor. “You gonna finally tell us where we’re going?” 

“Nope,” he said, smiling. Rose and Donna looked at each other, and he pulled the lever. 

They spent some time in the Vortex catching up. Harriet won re-election, so Donna was still quite busy, and Martha had started her fourth year of residency at Royal Hope. They both had a few stories to share about some of their most hectic days, and Rose and the Doctor just listened, smiling at them. 

They had missed their friends. 

As soon as the spin of time halted beneath Rose’s feet her eyes locked with the Doctor’s, who was grinning madly. “Allons-y!” he said, holding Rose’s hand as they made their way toward the front doors, all giddy and excited. 

“The Italian Renaissance!” he declared. “Venice, 1491.” 

They all stared in astonishment. He hummed, quite proud of himself, and he was about to step forward and start his lecture when he heard the door to the TARDIS close and he sighed, fully aware they were all now putting on a costume. He groaned and opened the door, and he was about to give them a time limit when he heard Rose’s laughter echo through the hall, and he just smiled. 

He was leaning against the wall when they all came running out nearly forty minutes later. “HA! Brilliant!” he said, and Martha turned in a circle, smiling at him. She wore an olive green dress with long white sleeves and gold thread ties, and she put her hair up in braids, a green headband resting on her forehead. Donna wore a similar dress in blue, but her hair was down and she put a hat on with a veil that draped down her back, and Rose followed last. 

The four of them had been on many adventures together over the last year, and more than half of them required a costume change of some sort. He started to do it purposefully, knowing they all got great enjoyment out of it, and he vividly remembered Woodstock, the Under the Sea ball, the house in 1859, and New York in 1922 (just to name a few), and so he knew that he should be prepared for the way Rose takes his breath away whenever she gets dressed up for whatever occasion they find themselves in, but somehow he wasn’t. 

She was, always and forever, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. 

Martha and Donna just looked at each knowingly as the Doctor smiled at his wife, who was wearing a pink dress with a corset. There was a bit more cleavage than she usually had, and the skirt split just below her waist and revealed a cream colored line of fabric, also coupled with gold trim, and her hair, which was once again as long as it was when this face first saw her, was pulled up in a twist with a beaded net over it. 

And just because she knew what it does to him, she had added some red lipstick. 

He held out his hand to her, their eyes dancing, and she slipped her fingers between his happily. He couldn’t stop smiling as they returned outside and began to walk through the street, his sense of peace now coupled with the thrill of travel, and he was his boisterous self as he began to tell them all about where they were. People milled about, some with donkeys that held food and goods they were hoping to sell, some wore dresses very similar to the ones they were all wearing, and many were a little dirty. 

“No such thing as indoor plumbing,” the Doctor said, and Donna grimaced. He laughed. 

It was lively and fun, and the air had a sense of wonder about it, as if history knew this was a time that would shift the world forever. They passed buildings that were run down and some that were well kept. Round archways were everywhere, as were stained glass windows, and the buildings they resided in were all made of stone or wood. There was a church ringing a bell, and they smelled wine and meat (and inevitably a little urine), and all the people around them were speaking in perfect Italian, which the TARDIS was translating brilliantly in their heads. 

Some dogs and cats roamed the square freely. The ground was dirt, and people rode horses quietly through the city. Water surrounded them, and Rose saw some fisherman arriving at the docks ready to sell their catches to the highest bidder. 

They all noticed the patrol that was standing on various rooftops, dressed in red and black armor. The Doctor frowned, wondering why so many were out in the middle of the day, and he gripped Rose’s hand as they continued to move through the square. 

So much of what happened during this time came to prominence when the era ended, the Doctor reminded them, and they were all invested in the art studios and crafting carts, fully aware that masterpieces might be getting made as they spoke. 

They passed a plague doctor wearing a bird mask, and Rose’s mind thought of Charon. Despite the awe for the art and music, the Doctor was slowly feeling his sense of peace evaporating as he took in more patrol guards and he eyed the beaked mask carefully. 

He felt it go away completely when a town crier held up a WANTED poster for a “man without a face”, and the Doctor’s brow formed thick lines as he listened. 

“He has been seen terrorizing the town at night. If you see him, the regime is offering a reward of 500 florin to the one who helps them catch him,” the crier said. People began to chatter among themselves, and Martha and Donna looked around, taking it all in. 

“That’s an ominous name,” Donna murmured, and the Doctor clenched his jaw. 

“Come on,” he said, and they all moved away from the crier toward the canal. There was another poster on the wall by the alley and the Doctor pulled it down and stared at it. The others peered over his shoulder, and they noticed it was a rather crude portrait that didn’t give them a lot of information. The Doctor noted the man’s face was turned down and covered by a hood, possibly a mask. His wheels were turning when suddenly Rose grabbed his arm. 

“Run!” she shouted, and they all looked up just in time to see a horse galloping through the street angrily with a patrol guard on its back, and they all dodged out of the way just as it whizzed by, sending a gust of wind through everyone’s hair. Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, and they turned to Martha and Donna. 

“Well...You wanna try to find this man with no face?” the Doctor asked. Donna grinned, and Martha just laughed. 

“What else would we do?” she said, and Rose smiled at her. 

They decided to follow the patrol guard and all ran in the general direction he had gone. Rose made them stop when her Instincts kicked in, telling her the patrol on the roof was watching them curiously, as no one else around them was running. They tucked themselves into a crowd and hid as the guard that was watching eventually moved to the other side of the roof, and they continued on their way.


	3. I Want You Safe

The sun was setting, creating a brilliant orange and pink skyline, and music began to trickle in through the night. It didn’t feel like Earth in many ways, it was another world entirely and that sense of wonder still lingered in the air, though all four of them were a little distracted from it, trying to find the guard. They spotted the horse, but the man on its back was nowhere to be seen. The Doctor noticed there weren’t any guards on the roof in this particular area and he kept looking at the WANTED poster, running through the list in his mind of anything he may have come across in the past that might look like this. 

Rose was biting her lip when Donna nudged her and pointed, and they saw the guard kicking someone on the ground in an alley. 

She ran. 

“STOP IT!” Rose shouted, and the Doctor, Martha and Donna all raced to catch up with her, but the guard was still shouting curses in Italian, and Rose touched his arm. 

He immediately threw her against the wall and the Doctor’s storm woke up, grabbing his helmet off his head and knocking him to the ground with force as Martha raced to Rose, who wasn’t hurt. She stood up and brushed off her skirt, and she ran to the body on the ground as the Doctor held the patrol guard down. 

“He’s dead,” Rose said, horrified, and Donna closed her eyes. Martha looked between the body and the guard, and the Doctor sniffed once. 

The guard moved to attack him, but the Doctor stopped him, much stronger than he looked, and threw him back on the ground again. “Did you mean to kill him?” 

“I will throw all of you in the barracks,” the guard snapped. 

“Go ahead,” the Doctor said. “I have a feeling your commander would love to know that you’re killing civilians.” The guard didn’t say anything, and the Doctor turned to Rose. “Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” she said, but she was staring at the guard, too. “What’s your name?” 

The guard just huffed at her, and she looked back down at the body, shifting him a little so she could get a better view of his face. He was no older than eighteen, but he was wearing a hooded cape, and she realized the guard must have thought he was the man without a face. It was obvious from looking at him that wasn’t the case, and she felt her own anger reaching new levels as she turned back to the guard. “You could have stopped when you realized you had the wrong man.” 

Instincts. 

The Doctor looked at Rose, and their eyes locked, equally angry. “He’s just a kid,” the Doctor snapped. The guard stood and grabbed his sword, and the Doctor stared at him with a stone face. 

“You’re all out of bounds,” the guard said. “You do not get to tell me how to protect our citizens.” 

Rose’s Instincts sensed the patrol guard was about to do something dire and her heart dropped. She ran toward him, but was a second too late and she watched as he stabbed the Doctor through the stomach. He cried out in pain, and Martha and Donna screamed. Rose just reacted, not allowing herself to panic, and she threw her entire body into the guard so he was nowhere near the Doctor and then shot him back with a beam of light. He landed on a pitchfork, a fact she couldn’t possibly care about as the Doctor collapsed to the ground with the sword still in his stomach, and blood was starting to trickle out of his mouth. 

“I got you,” Rose said, immediately at his side. “Hey. I love you, I got you. You’re okay.” 

He didn’t say anything as she pulled the sword out of his body. It made a sound she will never forget and he screamed. Tears spilled over onto her cheeks and she threw it to the side, ignoring the clanking noise as it skidded to a halt and he fell against her. Martha and Donna couldn’t watch, and he was gasping for air, his own eyes closed. Rose was crying but she wasn’t registering it, she just felt numb as adrenaline coursed through her and she placed her hands on his stomach, watching as the Vortex energy seeped into his skin. 

He would regenerate, she knew, if this didn’t work. But just as he wasn’t interested in watching her go through that this soon in their forever, she was equally uninterested in watching him do the same. It was the longest twenty seconds of her life as she kept her hands over his stomach, pooled in blood, until she felt his heartbeat grow steady in her ring and he let out a longer, louder gasp, and locked his eyes with hers. 

“Hello,” he said, and she just pulled her to him, clutching him. “I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?” she somehow managed to say, and he just nodded, whispering he loved her as he wrapped his arms around her as well. Martha and Donna slowly approached, kneeling down and trying not to think about the puddle of the Doctor’s blood by their knees or the dead body that was a foot away. 

Rose couldn’t let go of him, and he didn’t seem in much of a hurry to want to stop holding her, and their companions just watched, holding each other’s hands as Rose tried to let her tears subside. There were a lot of feelings running through her that she couldn’t begin to compartmentalize, and the Doctor could sense them all. He eventually pulled back and kissed her. 

“Rose, look at me,” he whispered. Donna and Martha averted their eyes as he lifted his Oxford out of his trousers and showed Rose his stomach. She let out a shaky breath and touched it, where there was barely a scar despite the blood that was still drying on his skin. 

They looked at each other, and they both felt a longer conversation brewing in their minds, but they pushed it aside for now and turned to Martha and Donna. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. Are you two…” 

“If you’re okay, we’re okay,” Donna said. “Just don’t do that again.” He stood slowly and pulled them each into a hug, and Rose wiped tears away and looked back at the patrol guard, who was very much dead by now. She closed her eyes. 

“We need to get out of here,” she whispered, and the Doctor pulled away from Martha and turned back to his wife, helping her stand up. “Something very very bad is going on.” 

The Doctor traced her face with his eyes, and he squeezed her hand. “I have a friend who might know. Come on,” he whispered, and they stepped away from the alley carefully. 

Rose’s blocks were up, and he was watching her carefully as they moved through this back part of the town. It was completely night now, and street lamps were few and far between, so they found themselves mostly walking in the dark, with only the tip of their sonic screwdrivers to guide them. He nudged his mind, unable to stand the silence, and he gripped her hand when she let him in. 

_I promise I’m okay._

_I’m not._

_Rose -_

_Later, Doctor. Please?_

He looked at her, and she pushed tears back again as they approached a single wooden door. He clenched his jaw and kissed her, pulling away and knocking three times. Martha and Donna watched, still rather shaken themselves, when the door opened. 

“Yes?” a voice asked. The Doctor turned and smiled, covering up all of his feelings as he looked at the man standing before them. 

“Leonardo! It’s the Doctor,” he said. 

Rose smirked, unsurprised, and Martha and Donna just stared. The man studied the Doctor carefully, and shook his head. “I liked the leather jacket.” 

“Me too,” he said. Leonardo stepped aside, apparently convinced, and the Doctor nodded at him and walked in. Rose, Martha and Donna followed and he closed the door, turning to all of them slowly. 

“You’re bloody,” he said. “Everything alright?” 

“Sort of,” the Doctor said. “Partly why we’re here. This is my wife, by the way, Rose. Our friends, Martha and Donna.” 

“Leonardo Da Vinci, pleasure,” he said. Donna made some noise and Martha just took a deep breath, and the Doctor was very aware whatever level of awe they may have had earlier was dampened significantly by what happened in the alleyway, and he squeezed Rose’s hand. Leonardo was approaching her first. 

“I never would have imagined...the Doctor, getting married,” he said quietly. “You must be quite the woman.” 

“Thank you,” she said. “How do you two know each other?” 

The Doctor just smiled, “Oh, well..Someone had to teach him about the pendulum.” 

Leonardo just laughed and Rose bit her lip, the air normal for a fraction of a second. She looked at her husband and was relieved when she saw color had returned to his cheeks, and he smiled at her. Her heart was still beating rapidly though as Leonardo sat down by his fireplace and looked at all of them. 

“He took me on a trip once. To help me understand the value of time for my inventions. It’s been a while,” he said. 

“Yeah,” the Doctor said. 

“Tell me why you’re here, friend,” Leonardo beckoned. 

“The man without a face,” the Doctor said, sitting on a stool across from him. Rose refused to let go of his hand and Martha and Donna leaned against the wall behind them, listening. “What do you know?” 

Leonardo just sighed, and grabbed a piece of machinery from his work bench behind them. He was fiddling with it while he spoke. “He hides in the shadows. He senses your fears.” 

Rose was biting on her thumb and looking around the room. The Doctor just nodded. 

“What does he do with them?” he asked. Leonardo shook his head. 

“I know he’s scared some to death. Others are going mad,” he murmured, still playing with the machinery. “Mind games.” 

“Does he speak?” the Doctor asked. Leonardo shook his head. 

“Not that I am aware of,” he said. “He’s like a ghost. He just... discovers you. The regime wants everyone to stay inside once the sun goes down. You should all stay here tonight.” 

“Thank you,” the Doctor said. He was watching the gear in his hands intently, and he nodded at him. “What’s that?” 

“Oh,” Leonardo said. “It’s for another time piece, actually.” 

“May I?” the Doctor asked, and Leonardo just handed it to him. Rose looked at the Doctor for a moment before she glanced back at Martha and Donna, and she moved to them. 

“Are you okay?” she asked them, and Martha just nodded. 

“Are you?” she whispered, pulling her into a hug. Rose felt a lump in her throat and she turned back to the Doctor, who was laughing with Leondardo like old chums. She knew he was putting on a brave face and was worried about her, and she just sent him a wave of love and grabbed on to both Martha and Donna and walked around Leonardo’s studio with them, lost in thought. 

They took in the sculptures and paintings and vast amounts of sawdust slowly. Normally, she would be giddy knowing the Mona Lisa was possibly painted in this room, but all she was trying to do right now was wipe the sound of the Doctor’s scream from her mind. She sensed the moment his eyes darted over to her when she heard it again, but she just smiled at Martha and looked at more of Leondardo’s genius scattered all around them, before they made their way out onto the balcony. 

The Doctor watched her as Leonardo was describing his time piece, and she met his gaze from across the room. She smiled at him and nodded, and he put up his blocks and decided to give her some space with their friends, knowing they would talk later, and he turned his attention to Leonardo. 

They had forever, and they were okay, he reminded himself. 

Rose rested her arms on the railing, staring at the moon. 

“He’s not the one who usually gets hurt,” Donna said, grabbing Rose’s hand. “You can talk to us, if you want.” 

Rose took a deep breath, and the sound of the Doctor and Leonardo’s laughter still echoed in the room, and she shook her head. “He would have been okay.” 

“Regenerated?” Martha whispered. “Right?” 

Rose just nodded and smelled the ocean, and she felt a prickle in her eyes that she shot down. “He says he can make it so that he just heals this body instead...but…” 

“You don’t believe him?” Donna asked. Rose sighed. 

“No, I do,” she murmured. “It’s not that. It’s...He only has two left. He’s not even had five years in this body….” 

“What?” Martha asked, and Rose just dropped her head into her hands, unsure how to voice how she was feeling. 

It was like the bubble popped and reality came crashing down. 

Forever might not be as long as she thought. 

She let out a small sob and Donna immediately pulled her into a hug. Martha hugged her on the other side, but they both heard the door open and the Doctor was standing there, no longer interested in Leonardo Da Vinci the moment Rose started to cry. No one spoke, and all Rose knew was she went from being held by her friends to being wrapped in two strong arms that smelled like Christmas, and she clung to him as Martha and Donna moved back inside. 

Leonardo, brilliant as he was, didn’t pester or ask questions. He had seen the blood on her dress and on the Doctor’s suit, and had a feeling something traumatic took place. He merely poured some ale for Martha and Donna, and they sat in shock as he smiled at them, and they spent some time getting to know him. 

He showed them his idea for a parachute. 

“I’m so sorry,” the Doctor murmured in Rose’s ear as she cried, and she just shook her head. 

“I don’t...I...I don’t know why...I’m so…” she sobbed, her voice breaking off as she tried to pull herself together. Her fingernails were digging into him and he just held her closer, whispering her name in Gallifreyan. 

She was surprised she was reacting in this way. Usually she’s so level headed. She’s the one who is reminding them to hold tight and take it all one step at a time. The here and now and all that...but she found herself overwhelmed and scared for a moment, and all she could do was cry. They didn’t speak and he let her get it all out of her system, until finally she fluttered her lips and pulled away, avoiding eye contact. He watched her turn back to the railing and look up at the moon, and he moved to stand next to her. 

“You don’t have to explain it, love. The same thoughts ran through my head,” he whispered. She bit her lips and closed her eyes. “That here we are….gifted forever and somehow finding ourselves... You’ve had two close calls already, and I…” He broke off, and she just bit her lip. “It would be rather ironic, wouldn’t it?” 

“What?” she whispered. He looked at her. 

“If we both used up our regenerations so fast we just got one single human lifespan together,” he said. He meant it as a joke, but she didn’t laugh and he didn’t find it particularly funny either. Her throat was tight again, and he slipped his hand into her’s. “But...well...that’s not going to happen.” 

She looked at him again, and he was smiling at her, brushing her hair off her cheeks. “I really don’t want to watch you go through it again, Doctor.” 

“I really don’t want to watch you go through it, either,” he whispered. “But it’s better than losing you, right?” She just nodded, and he continued. “It will happen, eventually, and I will be terrified beyond measure, I know. But we’ll be okay.” She looked down at her feet, and he brought his finger to her chin, knowing exactly what to say. “They keep trying to split us up -” 

“But they never ever will,” she finished, and she let out a shaky breath. He kissed her forehead. 

“I mean it though, Rose. Unless something happens to us that’s instantaneous, we will be fine in these bodies for a few hundred years, at least,” he whispered. “Your vortex energy is a factor I never had before. Ten bodies in nine hundred years...Some of them I got centuries with, some of them I barely made it twenty years….but now…” 

She smiled a little at him. “Are you saying you need saving?” 

He laughed, her never ending wit amazing him. It was a full belly laugh that caused him to pull her to him and kiss her head. She smiled in the hug and pressed her forehead to his shoulder, breathing in his Christmas scent. “Only if you’re the one doing the rescuing, Rose.” 

“Quite right,” she said, and he grinned at her. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand. 

“I’m trying not to get ahead of myself, Doctor. I yell at you about that enough…” He smirked at her, and she just sighed. “But...I want to learn how to heal this body like you said you will do. So that...for as long as we have, it’s me and you just the way we are. Can you, I dunno...teach me?” 

He stared at her, and his hands moved to cup her cheeks, another moment passing where he felt like his head was spinning, unable to process that they had _forever._ “Of course. Though, you probably already know. Your damn instincts,” he whispered with a small smile, and he pressed his lips to hers. She responded in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding his head to her, and the stars twinkled above their heads as the kiss lingered and deepened. 

Leonardo watched from the fireplace and just shook his head. “He’s changed.” 

Martha and Donna glanced over their shoulders and immediately turned back around, smirking at each other. The Doctor had Rose pressed so tightly to his body it was like she was growing out of him, and their mouths were circling each other, releasing all the tension and anxiety they had been feeling and savoring each other. 

Martha shrugged. “They were like this when I met them.” 

“Me too,” Donna said. “Down to the sobbing. Though... they weren’t as open about it.” 

Leonardo just pondered and leaned back in his chair, sipping his ale. “When I met him, he had just stopped some war. He was a shell of a man. Angry. Rude.” 

“He’s still pretty rude,” Donna teased and Leoardo set his cup down and moved to the back of the room, and brought them an oil painting. It was of the TARDIS, blanketed in smoke and flames. There was a clock behind it that felt skeletal, and there was a sadness in the colors and feel of it that made Martha stop breathing. 

“This was all I could do after I met him. I painted it for hours, processing...He was like fire and ice and rage. He was like the night and the storm in the heart of the sun. He was...ancient and forever... and he burned at the center of time and he could see the turn of the universe…” They just stared at him, and he let out a small chuckle. “And he was wonderful.” 

“He’s still those things,” Donna murmured, remembering all the things she had seen. Martha just nodded, sipping her ale too. 

“He’s just those things and more, now,” she added, and Leonardo looked at them. 

“She makes him better, I could tell from one glance,” he said. “I’m glad.” 

No one else spoke, and they turned to the window, where somehow the Doctor and Rose were still wrapped in a long kiss, and Leondardo sighed. “If you’re going after the man without a face, you’ll need this.” He moved to the other side of the wall and grabbed a mirror. “You can’t look him in the eye. He only shows his face before he’s about to attack. Use this.” 

“How do you know all this?” Donna asked. Leonardo just sighed. 

“I’ve been watching. Trying to come up with some invention that could capture him. The patrol guards are rubbish,” he said. 

“Yeah,” Martha scoffed. “We found one killing someone before we got here.” 

“Not the first time,” Leonardo said. “They’re growing desperate. I keep telling the town crier to tell people to throw away their cloaks. They’re dangerous.” 

“Do they work for him?” Donna asked. Leonardo shook his head. 

“No,” he said. “They’re just rather stupid.” 

They smiled a little at him and he smiled back. The door finally opened and Rose and the Doctor came inside, holding hands. Donna winked at them, and they let out a breath. 

“Sorry, it’s...been a hard day,” Rose said, and Leonardo just shook his head. 

“Quite alright. I was telling Martha and Donna here ways to help protect yourself,” he said. They quickly filled the Doctor and Rose in, and they seemed to have a new sense of focus after their talk, because they took it all in carefully and looked at each other, and Donna knew that meant they were thinking. 

“You said he comes out at night?” the Doctor asked. Leonardo nodded. “It’s night now…” 

“It’s not wise,” Leonardo said. “Trust me. Go tomorrow. Take time to prepare.” 

“Oh, but I love doing things that aren’t a good idea!” the Doctor said, beaming. Rose smiled, his boisterous self slowly coming back, and he looked at Martha and Donna. “Do you two want to come or stay?” 

“We’ll go,” Martha said. Leonardo sighed. 

“Just use the mirror. And...will you return? When the sun is up?” he said. The Doctor just nodded. 

“Sure,” he said. “Thank you for your help.” 

Leonardo nodded and the Doctor kissed Rose as they moved to the front door, and walked out into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying to explore the complexities of how their fears and struggles don't just go away because of this shift, instead they morph and become something new. They have quite the journey in my head!


	4. The Mare

It was chilly. 

Rose’s Instincts were guiding them like usual through the empty streets. Guards were perched on the rooftops, eyes peeled for the man without a face, and they stayed as quiet as possible, keeping their sonic screwdrivers out but not lit so as not to draw attention to themselves. Donna was shivering and Martha was keeping her ears open for any suspicious sounds, and they soon found themselves in the middle of town. 

“He hides in the shadows…”Rose murmured, and she felt the impulse to turn around. There was a dark corner to their right and she squeezed the Doctor’s hand. “Can I see the mirror?” 

He handed it to her. 

“Be careful,” he whispered, and she nodded, moving slowly toward the corner. She was walking backward, the mirror looking over her shoulder for her, and the Doctor, Martha, and Donna watched with bated breath. 

Nothing was there. 

Rose frowned and turned around, holding out her sonic screwdriver. 

A woman was cowering. 

She knelt down and almost reached out, but the woman was muttering under her breath, and Rose watched her carefully, unable to make out what she was saying. “What was that?” she whispered. 

“The fog...the fog...the fog….” the woman kept repeating, and Rose bit her lip and turned back to the others. 

“We can’t leave her here,” Rose said. The Doctor nodded. 

“We can’t take her either,” he said. “Let’s put her inside somewhere. At least then she’s off the street.” 

“Here,” Martha said, pointing to the building they were standing next to. It was very clearly someone’s home, but all the lights were off and Donna helped Rose gather the woman in their arms as the Doctor opened the door with his sonic screwdriver and they set her down on the ground quickly and quietly, locking it behind them. “Are there others?” 

“I don’t know,” Rose whispered, and they began to move. They ducked under an awning made of fabric to hide from a patrol guard and Rose let her Instincts do more talking. “Okay. This might be personal, but I think it’s important. What are we all afraid of?” No one said anything, and Rose sighed. “Just think about it. If we see this thing…” 

“That’s brilliant, Rose,” the Doctor whispered, and he squeezed her hand. 

The moonlight followed them on their journey, and they stopped right by the spot they had seen the plague doctor. 

There was a cloud of fog swirling in the square, and they could see a shadow. Two more people were cowering, also speaking under their breath, and Martha ran to them, helping them run out of the square as the man without face slowly glided toward them. The fog was getting thicker and Rose couldn’t see the front of him. She held up the mirror and looked over her shoulder carefully, trying to get a sense of _what_ he was. 

He didn’t seem human, she noticed, and the Doctor grabbed Martha and Donna as they ran to the other side of the fog. The man without a face slid past Rose and followed them, moving around all of them in a large circle, bringing the fog with him. His head was tilted down, his face still covered, and it felt like he was stalking his prey. 

Rose moved to Martha, hiding under a window sill with her. 

The Doctor was watching the way the creature moved, deducting. He noticed there were no feet. It’s hood was dark and it was floating, just as Leonardo said, almost like a ghost, and he knew immediately whatever this was wasn’t from Earth. It was an alien, a spirit, perhaps no more than energy…

It was something he knew they could stop. 

It made a loud noise that rang in everyone’s ears as it searched for them, and Rose spotted three patrol guards on the roof scream and run the other way, as if they weren’t actually expecting to come across him. 

She frowned, remembering the one who had been so keen to attack the young man before, but her thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor ran out, his sonic screwdriver in front of his chest and he scanned, trying to see if he could stun or stop the hooded creature. He was only able to hold it there for a second before it tried to lift its head and he turned around instantly, breaking any potential eye contact and Rose tossed him the mirror.

He looked over his shoulder and saw its face, and looked at Rose. 

“RUN!” he shouted, suddenly knowing exactly what it was. He began to dart away, and Rose’s hand found his immediately. Martha and Donna were close behind and they were weaving through the empty dirt roads. 

“YOU CAN’T BE HERE!” a guard shouted, trying to stop their path. They darted down another direction and Rose groaned when it started to chase after them, too. 

Clearly some of them took this job more seriously than others. 

She turned sharply and stunned him with an electrical pulsation, and the Doctor just grinned at her and grabbed her hand. 

“Okay, what is it?!” she shouted, and the Doctor pulled them all down a new street. They could sense the man without a face was still looking for them, and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure it wasn’t close. 

“They’re called the Mare. They’re an ancient, very ancient form of mind control used by the people on the planet Muda,” he said, running faster with all of them. “No idea how it got here. They were banned ages ago. They used to use them as a form of torture. Drive people mad, usually, like Leonardo said. They’re...well...evil. I hate to say that about a creature that’s just a product of its environment, but -” 

“Lecture later, what do we need to do?” Rose asked, and he clenched his jaw. 

“We -” he began, but Donna shouted. 

“DOCTOR!” 

Suddenly the Mare was right before them, having snuck around the other side. Donna was screaming, and Rose pulled her down just as it started to lift its head to make eye contact with her. They rolled away and grabbed Martha, too, and the Mare found the Doctor’s eyes instead, searching for his deepest fear. 

He had all his blocks up, knowing what kind of mind control he was dealing with and was confident he would stop it, but somehow the Mare was stronger than he expected. He felt the moment it broke through his walls and he cringed, suddenly expecting to see an image of Rose’s lifeless body. He expected to see her slipping from that lever again, screaming as his hearts ripped from his chest. He expected to hear the song the siren sang so very long ago, but none of it happened. 

He saw Gallifrey. 

It knocked him to the ground, the sight of the orange sky and the double suns. He would never have associated _fear_ with his home. Thousands of other emotions, sure, but never intrinsic fear, and the sight of it confused him. Rose watched as he gripped his head and tried to process, and she nudged her mind to him. Somehow he let her in, and she stood in shock, too. 

The next thing she knew, a wolf was howling in their minds. 

The sound caused the Mare to release the Doctor and move to Rose, ready to hold her hostage to her fears, but he couldn’t get in. She stood there calmly, watching the Mare with gold eyes and the Doctor quickly realized she was doing what he had tried to. The Mare tried again, and again, until it returned to its hood and sank to the ground, exhausted. The Doctor smiled at her, letting the images of Gallifrey go. 

His impossible human. 

Martha and Donna ran to the Doctor and knelt down next to him, helping him stand. “You alright?” Martha asked, the Doctor just nodded.  


“You have to leave this planet,” Rose said, unsure if would understand. The Mare just watched her. It truly didn’t have a face, they all noticed. Its skin, if you could call it that, was a musty gray color with two nostrils and a slit for a mouth, but there were no eyes. It tried one last time to access her mind, and it made a screeching sound. Rose looked at the Doctor. “Why does it only come out at night?” 

“The sun, most likely,” he said. “Muda is a nocturnal planet.” 

“You said it was evil,” Rose said, and he nodded. 

“It is,” he said. “People die because of these things. This...What you’re doing...It doesn’t happen, Rose.” 

“Can we take it back?” she whispered. He shook his head. They had nothing to contain it in and he refused to keep it on the ship with Martha and Donna. She took a deep breath. “What are our options, then?” 

“Wait for the sun,” he whispered. “That’s what I was going to do.” 

“Won’t that kill it?” she asked. He nodded sadly, and she turned her attention back to the Mare, who was getting angry, they could both sense it. She felt sad, for a moment, but then she remembered the trembling woman and the man who died for no reason, and she knew there were others who had been tortured, and she sighed. “Alright.” 

The Mare, however, had other ideas. 

It managed to find its strength and stood back up, creating a swirl of fog again as it screeched and began to fire rapid attacks at Rose. She kept her eyes gold, and each one was dodged. 

It let out a big sound, louder than all the rest, and it caught a glimpse of her fear. 

All she saw was darkness. 

She stumbled back, and the Doctor caught her. The Mare shrieked triumphantly, and the Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand and they started to run, trying to avoid it. Martha and Donna ran behind them, and the Doctor looked up, grateful when he saw the peek of the morning sun crossing the horizon. 

“RUN!” he shouted at all them again, and they moved as fast as they could. The Mare was angrier than before and darted in front of them, desperate for more of Rose’s fear. It nudged her mind but she was stronger again and blocked it, and the Doctor tossed her the mirror so she wouldn’t make any direct eye contact. 

It was a frustrating game of cat and mouse for a few minutes as the Mare tried to access all of their minds at that point, realizing it only had a few seconds. The mirror was tossed between all of them, looking over their shoulders, and when the Mare was about to retreat back to the shadows Rose aimed a beam of light at it, holding it in place. 

She closed her eyes, and it screeched and wormed its way around her energy. Everyone in the square was gathering, watching, amazed and terrified. The patrol guards all dropped their swords and bludgers and stared as the sun’s rays crossed the horizon, and the Mare screamed as it shriveled, and ultimately collapsed into a small ball, dried and withered at their feet. 

Rose lowered her hand and the Doctor pulled her into a hug and Martha and Donna did the same, and then all four of them hugged each other. The crowd that had gathered began to cheer and cry, and they all tried to run to them and thanked them. They just smiled and nodded, and the Doctor picked up the small ball on the ground and clenched his jaw, sonicing it just to make sure. It was dead. 

He sighed and dropped it back on the ground, as patrol guards came up to them, demanding to know more about what happened. 

His head still hurt, and Rose was pulled into conversation by the civilians, and Donna let her politician side come out. 

“OI! Back the hell up!” she shouted, and everyone moved instantly. “We’re very glad that it’s all taken care of, but we have to go. And _you_ lot, you need to do a thorough investigation. My friend almost died because one of your guards stabbed him and killed an innocent man last night. He’s on a pitchfork. Have a bloody fantastic day.” 

She grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her back as they all headed toward Leonardo’s house, and the patrol guards began to yell at each other as the civilians just celebrated. Rose smiled at her. 

“Missed you, Donna,” she said, and Donna just smiled at her. 

They approached Leonardo’s house and knocked, and he opened the door almost instantly. 

“How’d it go?” he asked. 

“Taken care of,” the Doctor said, sniffing and shoving his hands in his pockets. Leonardo stared at him, realizing he was indeed the same man he knew in some ways, and let them all inside. 

He brought some water over in case they needed it, which they all took gratefully. Rose sat on a bench covered in dried paint next to Martha; Donna rested on a stool, and the Doctor was back in the chair by the fireplace. No one spoke for a while, and in the daylight Rose realized just how much blood was on her dress and the Doctor’s suit, and she darted her eyes away from both.  


They told Leonardo what had happened, and he listened with intrigue, completely mesmerized by creatures from other worlds, writing it down in case he ever came across it himself. 

“Light, that’s wonderful,” he murmured, and the Doctor just smiled. 

He was Leonardo Da Vinci, after all. A bit of a genius, he thought. Rose smirked at him. 

“Well…” Leonardo said, rubbing his eyes. “Thank you. The city will be grateful.” 

“Our pleasure,” the Doctor said. Leonardo just stood and moved to his work bench, pulling a small box off the table and bringing it over to him. “I made this as a thank you for your help with my clock. Wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again, mind you, but I want you to have it.” 

“What is it?” the Doctor asked. Leonardo smiled at him. 

“I call it a Time Capsule,” he said. Rose bit her lip and Martha and Donna glanced at each other. The Doctor grinned at him. “It’s just a...I’m not sure what you might call it. You can put things inside and it opens when at the time you set it to. The clock here...You can use that to set the trigger. You gave me the biggest surprise of my life, maybe you can save it for a special moment. Or pass it on to a friend, I’ll never know.” 

They laughed, and the Doctor just smiled. “It’s brilliant. Thank you.” 

Leonardo nodded. “Also this.” 

He handed him the oil painting he showed Martha and Donna, and the Doctor’s eyes widened. “Oh, this is beautiful!” 

“I’m glad you think so,” he said, laughing a little. Rose moved to his side and looked over his shoulder, her hand rubbing small circles on the back of his neck. They smiled at each other and she winked at him. “You made me curious to explore all that is possible, Doctor. I don’t think I would have tried half the things I did if it wasn’t for you.” 

Rose squeezed his shoulder, and the Doctor just stared at him, touched. “Thank you.” 

Leonardo let out a long breath and sat down on another bench, looking at all four of them carefully. “Tell me something.” 

“What?” Rose asked. 

“My work. Do people remember it?” he asked. They all just smiled at him. 

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor said. “I can’t tell you more than that. Timelines, but...people remember you.” 

Leonardo cleared his throat and looked around his studio, his eyes watery. He just nodded. “Molto Bene.” 

The Doctor beamed at Rose who just shook her head at him and suppressed a laugh, and they all stood, moving to bid farewell to Leonardo and make their way back to the TARDIS. 

“I do hope to see you both one day again,” he told Rose and the Doctor as they stepped out of the door. They both smiled at him. 

“Us too,” she said, and Leonardo nodded kindly at them, and shut the door. 

They walked back silently, all looking around them, and they saw a celebratory party happening in the street with dancing and music, and they were reminded with a force that this was the Renaissance. Martha just started laughing. Donna did too, and soon all four of them were giggling, as they often found themselves doing. 

“Well, this was meant to be a fun, quiet trip. I’m sorry about that,” the Doctor said as he pushed the door to the TARDIS open. Donna and Martha just shook their heads. 

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” Martha said. The Doctor smiled at her. “Are we heading back?” 

“Do you want to?” he asked. Donna shook her head. 

“I think we all need a quiet trip first, spaceman,” she said. He nodded. 

“Get some rest, I’ll find a spot,” he said with a wink, and they gave them each a hug before they moved to their rooms, Donna muttering how Rose should be in charge of their next destination, and he rolled his eyes at her.

Rose and the Doctor were left in the console room, looking at each other. 

“Well done today,” he told her, kissing her head. She smiled, but her eyes inevitably dropped to the dried blood on his abdomen, and she was no longer interested in clothes at all. He noticed, and she grabbed his hand, heading to the galley. It’s not where he expected her to go, and when she grabbed a pair of shears and cut off the section of her skirt with the most blood, he clenched his jaw. 

“Coat,” she said, holding out her hand. He sighed, and then shimmied out of it, handing it to her. 

She cut the middle section that was caked in blood out, then stripped out of her dress entirely, and ripped the whole thing apart. He watched her carefully, trying to make sure she was okay as she created a pile of fabric at her feet, standing in front of him wearing blue panties and a matching bra. 

“Better?” he asked, and she just nodded, throwing it all in the bin. 

“Shirt,” she whispered, and she repeated the same thing with his Oxford. She wasn’t crying, and her blocks were up. He watched, telling himself it was her own form of catharsis, and he tried to help and moved to the sink, grabbing a towel. He dampened it and handed it to her, but she shook her head. 

“I have a better idea for that,” she whispered, and led him to their ensuite, starting the shower. 

“Get in, please.” 

He wasn’t smiling, not sure if she was okay, and she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. It wasn’t soft or tender, and she had him pressed up against the door of the shower in moments, tearing him out of his belt. 

“Rose…” he said, worried about her, and she kissed him again. 

“I’m fine,” she whispered. “We have forever. And you’re right, we’ll be okay. I was tired of looking at all that blood and would rather not have to see those clothes in the wardrobe. I just...I want you.” 

His eyes danced with hers, and he nodded, leaning in to kiss her. It was passionate instantly, and he almost slipped as she pulled him after her in the shower, where the water began to drip down his forehead and onto his back. She inspected his scar and gently rubbed all the blood away, and his eyes never left her face, carefully watching her. When she was satisfied, she dropped the soap back on the ledge the TARDIS created for them and kissed him, letting the warmth of the water wrap around them. 

He was gently rubbing her, and he pulled away, looking at her. Her hair was soaked and matted to her face, much as his was, and he kissed her again. She responded by hoisting her leg up onto the ledge and leaning back, giving him access as he melted their bodies together and began to move with her against the tile, holding him to her. 

Their minds connected, and he gasped her name, pressing his hand against the tile behind her in support. She spoke in Gallifreyan, promising him forever, and he smiled at her, lapping some of the water off of her neck. 

He felt the tension building in her and it was driving him wild, and they shifted positions slightly so she was wrapped around him, his knees pressing against the ledge, clinging to her. It was needy and yet also slow, and memories swam in their minds, making him fall impossibly more in love with her. 

“I love you,” he whispered, and she kissed him. 

“I love you,” she said hurriedly. Water was dripping off of his eyelashes as he held her closer, and their kisses grew messier as the supernova shattered around them, falling like stardust. She slid against the tile until she was sitting on the ledge, the soap right next to her, and he fell to his knees, his head in her lap. 

They stayed there for a few minutes, catching their breath and letting all their thoughts and feelings tingle in their minds, until they both decided to finish their shower and get dressed, wrapped in clothes that had never seen any blood at all, and they crawled into bed, tangling their limbs together as her head rested on his pillow beside him. He kissed her. 

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he whispered. She just nodded. 

“Yes,” she said, brushing his hair back. “Moment of weakness.” 

“We all have those,” he said, smiling at her. She smiled back and moved her head a little closer to his, closing her eyes. 

“Are you alright?” she whispered. “Gallifrey…” 

“Oh, I’m fine,” he said, wrapping his arm around her. “A little...confused, I guess. But I’m fine.” 

“Mkay,” she said, yawning. He stared at the ceiling, and tried to turn off his mind for now. He could try to dissect it all, he could stay up for the next seven hours asking Rose to help him figure out why he saw those double suns, but didn’t want to do that. He just wanted to feel her heartbeat in his ring and against his chest, and remember that they had forever. 

He dreamt of Rose that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one will be out soon!


End file.
